document_title: Karachi

question_text: what is the population of karachi in 2017

question_tokens: what is the population of karachi in 2017

text: Karachi

text: Etymology

text: Karachi was reputedly founded in 1729 as the settlement of Kolachi.[22] The new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi, whose son is said to have slain a man-eating crocodile in the village after his elder brothers had already been killed by it.[22]

text: The city's inhabitants are referred to by the demonym Karachiite in English, and Karāchīwālā in Urdu.

text: History

text: Early history

text: Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites discovered by a team from Karachi University on the Mulri Hills constitute one of the most important archaeological discoveries made in Sindh during the last 50 years. The earliest inhabitants of the Karachi region are believed to have been hunter-gatherers, with ancient flint tools discovered at several sites. A sea port called Barbarikon by the Greeks was situated in Karachi.

text: The Karachi region is believed to have been known to the ancient Greeks. The region may be the site of Krokola, where Alexander the Great once camped to prepare a fleet for Babylonia, as well as Morontobara which may possibly be Karachi's Manora neighbourhood.

text: In 711 CE, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh and Indus Valley. The Karachi region is believed to have been known to the Arabs as Debal, from where Muhammad Bin Qasim launched his forces into South Asia in 712 C.E.[47]

text: Under Mirza Ghazi Beg, the Mughal administrator of Sindh, the development of coastal Sindh and the Indus delta was encouraged. Under his rule, fortifications in the region acted as a bulwark against Portuguese incursions into Sindh. The Ottoman admiral, Seydi Ali Reis, mentioned Debal and Manora Island in his book Mir'ât ül Memâlik in 1554.

text: Kolachi settlement

text: Karachi was founded in 1729 as the settlement of Kolachi under the rule of the ethnically Baloch Talpur Mirs of Sindh.[22] The founders of the settlement are said to arrived from the nearby town of Karak Bandar after the harbour there silted in 1728 after heavy rains. The settlement was fortified, and defended with cannons imported by Sindhi sailors from Muscat, Oman. The name Karachee was used for the first time in a Dutch document from 1742, in which a merchant ship de Ridderkerk is shipwrecked near the original settlement.[48][49] The city continued to be ruled by the Talpur Mirs until it was occupied by forces under the command of John Keane in February 1839.[50]

text: British Raj

text: The British East India Company captured Karachi on 3 February 1839 after the HMS Wellesley opened fire and quickly destroyed the local mud fort at Manora.[51] The town was annexed to British India in 1843 after Sindh was captured by Major General Charles James Napier in the Battle of Miani, with the city declared capital of the new British province.

text: The city was recognized for its strategic importance, prompting the British to establish the Port of Karachi in 1854. Karachi rapidly became a transportation hub for British India owing to newly built port and rail infrastructure, as well as the increase in agricultural exports from the opening of productive tracts of newly irrigated land in Punjab and interior Sindh.[52] The British also developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison in order to aid the British war effort in the First Anglo-Afghan War.[53]

text: During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the 21st Native Infantry, then stationed in Karachi, mutinied and declared allegiance to rebel forces in September 1857, though the British were able to quickly defeat the rebels and reassert control over the city. Following the Rebellion, British colonial administrators continued to develop the city. In 1864, the first telegraphic message was sent from South Asia to England from Karachi.[54] Public building works were undertaken, including the construction of Frere Hall in 1865 and the later Empress Market. In 1878, the British Raj connected Karachi with the network of British India's vast railway system.

text: By 1899, Karachi had become the largest wheat-exporting port in the East.[55] British development projects in Karachi resulted in an influx of economic migrants from several ethnicities and religions, including Anglo-British, Parsis, Marathis, and Goan Christians, among others. Karachi's newly arrived Jewish population established the city's first synagogue in 1893.[56] Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was born in Karachi's Wazir Mansion in 1876 to migrants from Gujarat. By the end of the 19th century, Karachi's population was estimated to be 105,000.[57]

text: Under British rule, the city's municipal government was established. Known as the Father of Modern Karachi, mayor Seth Harchandrai Vishandas led the municipal government to improve sanitary conditions in the Old City, as well as major infrastructure works in the New Town after his election in 1911.[2]

text: Post-independence

text: At the dawn of Pakistan's independence in 1947, Karachi was Sindh's largest city with a population of over 400,000.[19] Despite communal violence across India and Pakistan, Karachi remained relatively peaceful compared to cities further north in Punjab.[2] The city became the focus for the resettlement of Muslim Muhajirs migrating from India, leading to a dramatic expansion of the city's population. This migration lasted until the 1960s.[58] This immigration ultimately transformed the city's demographics and economy.

text: Karachi was selected as the first capital of Pakistan and served as such until the capital was shifted to Rawalpindi in 1958.[59] While foreign embassies shifted away from Karachi, the city is host to numerous consulates and honorary consulates.[60] Between 1958 and 1970, Karachi's role as capital of Sindh was ceased due to the One Unit programme enacted by President Iskander Mirza.[2]

text: Karachi of the 1960s was regarded as an economic role model around the world, with Seoul, South Korea borrowing from the city's second "Five-Year Plan."[61][62] The 1970s saw major labour struggles in Karachi's industrial estates. The 1980s and 1990s saw an influx of thousands of Afghan refugees from the Soviet war in Afghanistan into Karachi; who were in turn followed in smaller numbers by refugees escaping from post-revolution Iran.[63]

text: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Karachi was rocked by political and conflict, while crime rates drastically increased with the arrival of weaponry from the War in Afghanistan.[43] Conflict between the MQM party, and ethnic Sindhis, Pashtuns, and Punjabis was sharp. The party and its vast network of supporters were targeted by Pakistani security forces as part of the controversial Operation Clean-up in 1992 – an effort to restore peace in the city that lasted until 1994.[64] Anti-Hindu riots also broke out in Karachi in 1992 in retaliation for the demolition of the Babri Mosque in India by a group of Hindu nationalists earlier that year.[65] Karachi had become widely known for its high rates of violent crime, but recorded crimes sharply decreased following a controversial crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM party, and Islamist militants initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers.[44]

text: Geography

text: Karachi is located on the coastline of Sindh province in southern Pakistan, along a natural harbour on the Arabian Sea. Karachi is built on a coastal plains with scattered rocky outcroppings, hills and coastal marshlands. Coastal mangrove forests grow in the brackish waters around the Karachi Harbour, and farther southeast towards the expansive Indus River Delta. West of Karachi city is the Cape Monze, locally known as Ras Muari, which is an area characterised by sea cliffs, rocky sandstone promontories and undeveloped beaches.

text: Within the city of Karachi are two small ranges: the Khasa Hills and Mulri Hills, which lie in the northwest and act as a barrier between North Nazimabad Town and Orangi Town.[66] Karachi's hills are barren and are part of the larger Kirthar Range, and have a maximum elevation of 528 metres (1,732 feet).

text: Between the hills are wide coastal plains interspersed with dry river beds and water channels. Karachi has developed around the Malir River and Lyari Rivers, with the Lyari shore being the site of the settlement for Kolachi. To the west of Karachi lies the Indus River flood plain.[67]

text: Climate

text: Karachi has an arid climate (Köppen: BWh) dominated by a long "Summer Season" while moderated by oceanic influence from the Arabian Sea. The city has low annual average precipitation levels (approx. 250 mm (9.8 in) per annum), the bulk of which occurs during the July–August monsoon season. While the summers are hot and humid, cool sea breezes typically provide relief during hot summer months, though Karachi is prone to deadly heat waves,[68] though a text-message based early warning system is now in place that helped prevent any fatalities during an unusually strong heatwave in October 2017.[69] The winter climate is dry and lasts between December and February. It is dry and pleasant relative to the warm hot season, which starts in March and lasts until monsoons arrive in June. Proximity to the sea maintains humidity levels at near-constant levels year-round.

text: The city's highest monthly rainfall, 429.3 mm (16.90 in), occurred in July 1967.[70] The city's highest rainfall in 24 hours occurred on 7 August 1953, when about 278.1 millimetres (10.95 in) of rain lashed the city, resulting in major flooding.[71] Karachi's highest recorded temperature is 48 °C (118 °F) which was recorded on 9 May 1938,[72] and the lowest is 0 °C (32 °F) recorded on 21 January 1934.[70]

text:
hideClimate data for Karachi

Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year

Record high °C (°F)
32.8
(91)
36.1
(97)
41.5
(106.7)
44.4
(111.9)
47.8
(118)
47.0
(116.6)
42.2
(108)
41.7
(107.1)
42.8
(109)
43.3
(109.9)
38.5
(101.3)
34.5
(94.1)
47.8
(118)

Average high °C (°F)
25.8
(78.4)
27.7
(81.9)
31.5
(88.7)
34.3
(93.7)
35.2
(95.4)
34.8
(94.6)
33.1
(91.6)
31.7
(89.1)
32.6
(90.7)
34.7
(94.5)
31.9
(89.4)
27.4
(81.3)
31.7
(89.1)

Daily mean °C (°F)
18.1
(64.6)
20.2
(68.4)
24.5
(76.1)
28.3
(82.9)
30.5
(86.9)
31.4
(88.5)
30.3
(86.5)
28.9
(84)
28.9
(84)
27.9
(82.2)
23.9
(75)
19.5
(67.1)
26.0
(78.8)

Average low °C (°F)
10.4
(50.7)
12.7
(54.9)
17.6
(63.7)
22.3
(72.1)
25.9
(78.6)
27.9
(82.2)
27.4
(81.3)
26.1
(79)
25.2
(77.4)
21.0
(69.8)
15.9
(60.6)
11.6
(52.9)
20.3
(68.5)

Record low °C (°F)
0.0
(32)
3.3
(37.9)
7.0
(44.6)
12.2
(54)
17.7
(63.9)
22.1
(71.8)
22.2
(72)
20.0
(68)
18.0
(64.4)
10.0
(50)
6.1
(43)
1.3
(34.3)
0.0
(32)

Average rainfall mm (inches)
6.0
(0.236)
9.8
(0.386)
11.7
(0.461)
4.4
(0.173)
0.0
(0)
5.5
(0.217)
85.5
(3.366)
67.4
(2.654)
19.9
(0.783)
1.0
(0.039)
1.8
(0.071)
4.4
(0.173)
217.4
(8.559)

Mean monthly sunshine hours
270.7
249.4
271.6
277.4
299.1
231.8
155.0
147.7
218.8
283.5
273.3
272.0
2,950.3

Source #1: NOAA[73]

Source #2: PMD (extremes)[74]

text: Cityscape

text: The city first developed around the Karachi Harbour, and owes much of its growth to its role as a seaport at the end of the 18th century,[75] contrasted with Pakistan's millennia-old cities such as Lahore, Multan, and Peshawar. Karachi's Mithadar neighbourhood represents the extent of Kolachi prior to British rule.

text: British Karachi was divided between the "New Town" and the "Old Town," with British investments focused primarily in the New Town.[53] The Old Town was a largely unplanned neighbourhood which housed most of the city's indigenous residents, and had no access to sewerage systems, electricity, and water.[53] The New Town was subdivided into residential, commercial, and military areas.[53] Given the strategic value of the city, the British developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison in the New Town in order to aid the British war effort in the First Anglo-Afghan War.[53]

text: The city's development was largely confined to the area north of the Chinna Creek prior to independence, although the seaside area of Clifton was also developed as a posh locale under the British, and its large bungalows and estates remain some of the city's most desirable properties. The aforementioned historic areas form the oldest portions of Karachi, and contain its most important monuments and government buildings, with the I. I. Chundrigar Road being home to most of Pakistan's banks, including the Habib Bank Plaza which was Pakistan's tallest building from 1963 until the early 2000s.[2]

text: Situated on a coastal plain northwest of Karachi's historic core lies the sprawling district of Orangi Town. North of the historic core is the largely middle-class district of Nazimabad, and upper-middle class North Nazimabad, which were developed in the 1950s. To the east of the historic core is the area known as Defence – an expansive upscale suburb developed and administered by the Pakistan Army. Karachi's coastal plains along the Arabian Sea south of Clifton were also developed much later as part of the greater Defence Housing Authority project.

text: Karachi's city limits also include several islands, including Baba and Bhit Islands, Oyster Rocks, and Manora, a former island which is now connected to the mainland by a thin 12 kilometre long shoal known as Sandspit. The city has been described as one divided into sections for those able to afford to live in planned localities with access to urban amenities, and those who live in unplanned communities with inadequate access to such services.[76] Up to 60% of Karachi's residents live in such unplanned communities.[76]

text: Economy

text: Karachi is Pakistan's financial and commercial capital.[77] Since Pakistan's independence, Karachi has been the centre of the nation's economy, and remain's Pakistan's largest urban economy despite the economic stagnation caused by sociopolitical unrest during the late 1980s and 1990s. The city forms the centre of an economic corridor stretching from Karachi to nearby Hyderabad, and Thatta.[78]

text: With an estimated GDP of $113 billion as of 2014[update],[34] Karachi contributes the bulk of Sindh's gross domestic product.[79][80][81][82] and accounts for approximately 20% of the total GDP of Pakistan.[36][37] . The city has a large informal economy which is not typically reflected in GDP estimates.[83] The informal economy may constitute up to 36% of Pakistan's total economy, versus 22% of India's economy, and 13% of the Chinese economy.[84] The informal sector employs up to 70% of the city's workforce.[40] Although the city's competitiveness has declined relative to other Pakistani cities.[78] a crackdown operation against criminals initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers,[44] resulted in dramatically low crime rates [45] triggering sharp increases in real-estate prices in 2015.[46]

text: Today along with Pakistan's continued economic expansion Karachi is now ranked 3rd in the world for consumer expenditure growth with its market anticipated to increase by 6.6% in real terms in 2018[85] It is also ranked among the top cities in the world by anticipated increase of number of households (1.3 million households) with annual income above $20,000 dollars measured at PPP exchange rates by year 2025.[86]

text: Finance and Banking

text: Most of Pakistan's public and private banks are headquartered on Karachi's I. I. Chundrigar Road, which is known as "Pakistan's Wall Street",[2] with a large percentage of the cashflow in the Pakistani economy taking place on I. I. Chundrigar Road. Most major foreign multinational corporations operating in Pakistan have their headquarters in Karachi. Karachi is also home to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which was rated as Asia's best performing stock market in 2015 on the heels of Pakistan's upgrade to emerging-market status by MSCI.[87]

text: Media and Technology

text: Karachi has been the pioneer in cable networking in Pakistan with the most sophisticated of the cable networks of any city of Pakistan,[88] and has seen an expansion of information and communications technology and electronic media. The city has become a software outsourcing hub for Pakistan.[citation needed] Several independent television and radio stations are based in Karachi, including Business Plus, AAJ News, Geo TV, KTN,[89] Sindh TV,[90] CNBC Pakistan, TV ONE, Express TV,[91] ARY Digital, Indus Television Network, Samaa TV, Abb Tak, BoL TV, and Dawn News, as well as several local stations.

text: Industry

text: Industry contributes a large portion of Karachi's economy, with the city home to several of Pakistan's largest companies dealing in textiles, cement, steel, heavy machinery, chemicals, and food products.[92] The city is home to approximately 30 percent of Pakistan's manufacturing sector,[38] and produces approximately 42 percent of Pakistan's value added in large scale manufacturing.[93] At least 4500 industrial units form Karachi's formal industrial economy.[94] Karachi's informal manufacturing sector employs far more people than the formal sector, though proxy data suggest that the capital employed and value added from such informal enterprises is far smaller than that offormal sector enterprises.[95] An estimated 63% of the Karachi's workforce is employed in trade and manufacturing.[78]

text: Karachi Export Processing Zone, SITE, Korangi, Northern Bypass Industrial Zone, Bin Qasim and North Karachi serve as large industrial estates in Karachi.[96] The Karachi Expo Centre also complements Karachi's industrial economy by hosting regional and international exhibitions.[97]

text:
Name of estate
Location
Established
Area in acres

SITE Karachi
SITE Town
1947
4700[98]

Korangi Industrial Area
Korangi Town
1960
8500[99]

Landhi Industrial Area
Landhi Town
1949
11000[100]

North Karachi Industrial Area
New Karachi Town
1974
725[101]

Federal B Industrial Area
Gulberg Town
1987
[102]

Korangi Creek Industrial Park
Korangi Creek Cantonment
2012
250[103]

Bin Qasim Industrial Zone
Bin Qasim Town
1970
25000[104]

Karachi Export Processing Zone
Landhi Town
1980[105]
315[106]

Pakistan Textile City
Bin Qasim Town
2004
1250[107]

West Wharf Industrial Area
Keamari Town

430

SITE Super Highway Phase-I
Super Highway
1983
300[108]

SITE Super Highway Phase-II
Super Highway
1992
1000[108]

text: Revenue collection

text: As home to Pakistan's largest ports and a large portion of its manufacturing base, Karachi contributes a large share of Pakistan's collected tax revenue. As most of Pakistan's large multinational corporations are based in Karachi, income taxes are paid in the city even though income may be generated from other parts of the country.[109] As home to the country's two largest ports, Pakistani customs officials collect the bulk of federal duty and tariffs at Karachi's ports, even if those imports are destined for one of Pakistan's other provinces.[110] Approximately 25% of Pakistan's national revenue is generated in Karachi.[36]

text: According to the Federal Board of Revenue's 2006–2007 year book, tax and customs units in Karachi were responsible for 46.75% of direct taxes, 33.65% of federal excise tax, and 23.38% of domestic sales tax.[111] Karachi accounts for 75.14% of customs duty and 79% of sales tax on imports,[111] and collects 53.38% of the total collections of the Federal Board of Revenue, of which 53.33% are customs duty and sales tax on imports.[111][112]

text: Demographics

text: Karachi is the most linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse city in Pakistan.[19] The city is a melting pot of ethno-linguistic groups from throughout Pakistan, as well as migrants from other parts of Asia. The city's inhabitants are referred to by the demonym Karachiite. The 2017 census numerated Karachi's population to be 14,910,352, having grown 2.49% per year since the 1998 census, which had listed Karachi's population at approximately 9.3 million.[113]

text: Population

text: At the end of the 19th century, Karachi had an estimated population of 105,000.[57] By the dawn of Pakistan's independence in 1947, the city had an estimated population of 400,000.[19] The city's population grew dramatically with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees from the newly independent Republic of India.[23] Rapid economic growth following independence attracted further migrants from throughout Pakistan and South Asia.[24] The 2017 census numerated Karachi's population to be 14,910,352, having grown 2.49% per year since the 1998 census, which had listed Karachi's population at approximately 9.3 million.[113]

text: Lower than expected population figures from the census suggest that Karachi's poor infrastructure, law and order situation, and weakened economy relative to other parts of Pakistan made the city less attractive to in-migration than previously thought.[113] The figure is disputed by all the major political parties in Sindh.[114][115][116] Karachi's population grew by 59.8% since the 1998 census to 14.9 million, while Lahore city grew 75.3%[117] – though Karachi's census district had not been altered by the provincial government since 1998, while Lahore's had been expanded by Punjab's government,[117] leading to some of Karachi's growth to have occurred outside the city's census boundaries.[113] Karachi's population had grown at a rate of 3.49% between the 1981 and 1998 census, leading many analysts to estimate Karachi's 2017 population to be approximately 18 million by extrapolating a continued annual growth rate of 3.49%. Some had expected that the city's population to be between 22 and 30 million,[113] which would require an annual growth rate accelerating to between 4.6% and 6.33%.[113]

text: Political parties in the province have suggested the city's population has been underestimated in a deliberate attempt to undermine the political power of the city and province.[118] Senator Taj Haider from the PPP claimed he had official documents revealing the city's population to be 25.6 million in 2013,[118] while the Sindh Bureau of Statistics, part of by the PPP-led provincial administration, estimated Karachi's 2016 population to be 19.1 million.[119]

text:
showPopulation growth

Year
Pop.

%±

1729
250

—

1838
14,000

5500.0%

1842
15,000

7.1%

1850
16,773

11.8%

1856
22,227

32.5%

1861
56,859

155.8%

1881
73,560

29.4%

1891
105,199

43.0%

1901
136,297

29.6%

1911
186,771

37.0%

1921
244,162

30.7%

1931
300,779

23.2%

1941
435,887

44.9%

1951
1,137,667

161.0%

1961
2,044,044

79.7%

1972
3,606,744

76.5%

1981
5,437,984

50.8%

1986
7,443,663

36.9%

1998
9,802,134

31.7%

2017
14,910,352

52.1%

Source:[10][120][121][122]
† Large population rise between 1941 and 1951 due to
large-scale migration after independence in 1947.

text: Ethnicity

text: The oldest portions of modern Karachi reflect the ethnic composition of the first settlement, with Balochis and Sindhis continuing to make up a large portion of the Lyari neighbourhood,[25] though many of the residents are relatively recent migrants. Following Partition, large numbers of Hindus migrant Pakistan for the newly-independent Dominion of India (later the Republic of India), while a larger percentage of Muslim migrant from India settled in Karachi. The city grew 150% during the ten period between 1941 and 1951 with the arrival of migrants from India,[123] who made up 57% of Karachi's population in 1951.[124] The city is now considered a melting pot of Pakistan, and is the country's most diverse city.[25] In 2011, an estimated 2.5 million foreign migrants lived in the city, mostly from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.[125]

text: Much of Karachi's citizenry descend from Urdu-speaking migrants from North India who became known by the Arabic term for "Migrant" – Muhajir. The first Muhajirs of Karachi arrived in 1946 in the aftermath of the Great Calcutta Killings and subsequent 1946 Bihar riots.[126] The city's wealthy Hindus opposed the resettlement of refugees near their homes, and so many refugees were accommodated in the older and more congested parts of Karachi.[127] The city witnessed a large influx of Muhajirs following Partition, who were drawn to the port city and newly designated federal capital for its white-collar job opportunities.[128] Muhajirs continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and early 1960s,[129] with Karachi remaining the primary destination of Indian Muslim migrants throughout those decades.[58] The Muhajir Urdu-speaking community in the 2017 census forms slightly less than 45% of the city's population.[117] Muhajirs form the bulk of Karachi's middle class.[25] Muhajirs are regarded as the city's most secular community, while other minorities such as Christians and Hindus increasingly regard themselves as part of the Muhajir community.[25]

text: Karachi is home to a wide array of non-Urdu speaking Muslim peoples from what is now the Republic of India. The city has a sizable community of Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani-speaking refugees.[25] Karachi is also home to a several-thousand member strong community of Malabari Muslims from Kerala in South India.[130] These ethno-linguistic groups are being assimilated in the Urdu-speaking community.[131]

text: During the period of rapid economic growth in the 1960s, large numbers Pashtuns from the NWFP migrated to Karachi with Afghan Pashtun refugees settling in Karachi during the 80's.[132][133][134][135][136] By some estimates, Karachi is home to the world's largest urban Pashtun population,[137] with more Pashtun citizens than the FATA.[2][137][137] While generally considered to be one of Karachi's most conservative communities, Pashtuns in Karachi generally vote for the secular Awami National Party rather than religious parties.[2] Pashtuns from Afghanistan are regarded as the most conservative community.[2] Pashtuns from Pakistan's Swat Valley, in contrast, are generally seen as more liberal in social outlook.[2] The Pashtun community forms the bulk of manual labourers and transporters.[138]

text: Migrants from Punjab began settling in Karachi in large numbers in the 1960s, and now make up an estimated 14% of Karachi's population.[2] The community forms the bulk of the city's police force,[2] and also form a large portion of Karachi's entrepreneurial classes and direct a larger portion of Karachi's service-sector economy.[2] The bulk of Karachi's Christian community, which makes up 2.5% of the city's population, is Punjabi.[139]

text: Despite being the capital of Sindh province, only 6–8% of the city is Sindhi.[2] Sindhis form much of the municipal and provincial bureaucracy.[2] 4% of Karachi's population speaks Balochi as its mother tongue, though most Baloch speakers are of Sheedi heritage – a community that traces its roots to Africa.[2]

text: Following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and independence of Bangladesh, thousands of Urdu-speaking Biharis arrived in the city, preferring to remain Pakistani rather than live in the newly-independent country. Large numbers of Bengalis also migrated from Bangladesh to Karachi during periods of economic growth in the 1980s and 1990s. Karachi is now home to an estimated 2.5 to 3 million ethnic Bengalis living in Pakistan.[31][32] Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, who speak a dialect of Bengali and are sometimes regarded as Bengalis, also live in the city. Karachi is home to an estimated 400,000 Rohingya residents.[140][141] Large scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made Karachi one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world outside of Myanmar.[142]

text: Central Asian migrants from Uzbekistan and Kyrghyzstan have also settled in the city.[143] Domestic workers from the Philippines are employed in Karachi's posh locales, while many of the city's teachers hail from Sri Lanka.[143] Expatriates from China began migrating to Karachi in the 1940s, to work as dentists, chefs and shoemakers, while many of their decedents continue to live in Pakistan.[143][144] The city is also home to a small number of British and American expatriates.[145]

text: During World War II, about 3,000 Polish refugees from the Soviet Union, with some Polish families who chose to remain in the city after Partition.[146][147] Post-Partition Karachi also once had a sizable refugee community from post-revolutionary Iran.[143]

text: Religion

text:
Religions in Karachi[148][149][150][151]

Religions

Percent

Islam

96.5%

Christianity

2.49%

Hinduism

0.86%

Others

0.4%

text: Karachi is one of Pakistan's most religiously diverse cities.[19] Karachiites adhere to numerous sects and sub-sects of Islam, as well as Protestant Christianity, and community of Goan Catholics. The city also is home to large numbers of Hindus, and a small community of Zoroastrians.

text: Prior to Pakistan's independence in 1947, the population of the city was estimated to be 50% Muslim, 40% Hindu, with the remaining 10% primarily Christians (both British and native), with a small numbers of Jews. Following the independence of Pakistan, much of Karachi's Sindhi Hindu population left for India while Muslim refugees from India in turn settled in the city. The city continued to attract migrants from throughout Pakistan, who were overwhelmingly Muslim, and city's population nearly doubled again in the 1950s.[123] As a result of continued migration, over 96.5% of the city currently is estimated to be Muslim.[2]

text: Karachi is overwhelmingly Muslim,[2] though the city is one of Pakistan's most secular cities.[25][26][27] Approximately 65% of Karachi's Muslims are Sunnis, while 35% are Shi'ites.[153][154][155] Sunnis primarily follow the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, with Sufism influencing religious practices by encouraging reverence for Sufi saints such as Abdullah Shah Ghazi and Mewa Shah. Shi'ites are predominantly Twelver, with a significant Ismaili minority which is further subdivided into Nizaris, Mustaalis, Dawoodi Bohras, and Sulaymanis.

text: Approximately 2.5% of Karachi's population is Christian.[148][149][150] The city's Christian community is primarily composed of Punjabi Christians,[139] who converted from Sikhism to Christianity during the British Raj.[156] Karachi has a community of Goan Catholics who are typically better-educated and more affluent than their Punjabi co-religionists.[157] The Goan community dates from 1820 and has a population estimated to be 12,000–15,000 strong.[158]

text: While most of the city's Hindu population left en masse for India following Pakistan's independence, Karachi still has a large Hindu community with an estimated population of 250,000 based on 2013 data.[159] Karachi's affluent and influential Parsis have lived in the region in the 12th century, though the modern community dates from the mid 19th century when they served as military contractors and commissariat agents to the British.[160] Further waves of Parsi immigrants from Persia settled in the city in the late 19th century.[161] The population of Parsis in Karachi and throughout South Asia is in continuous decline due to low birth-rates and migration to Western countries.[162]

text: Language

text: Karachi has the largest number of Urdu speakers in Pakistan.[88] As per the 1998 census, the linguistic breakdown of Karachi Division is:

text:
Rank
Language
1998 census[163]
Speakers
1981 census[164]
Speakers

1
Urdu
48.52%
4,497,747
54.34%
2,830,098

2
Punjabi
13.94%
1,292,335
13.64%
710,389

3
Pashto
11.42%
1,058,650
08.71%
453,628

4
Sindhi
07.22%
669,340
06.29%
327,591

5
Balochi
04.34%
402,386
04.39%
228,636

6
Saraiki
02.11%
195,681
00.35%
18,228

7
Others
12.44%
1,153,126
12.27%
639,560

All
100%
9,269,265
100%
5,208,132

text: The category of "others" includes Gujarati, Dawoodi Bohra, Memon, Marwari, Dari, Brahui, Makrani, Hazara, Khowar, Gilgiti, Burushaski, Balti, Arabic, Farsi and Bengali.[165]

text: Transportation

text: Road

text: Karachi is served by a road network estimated to be approximately 9,500 kilometres (5,900 miles) in length,[166] serving approximately 3.1 million vehicles per day.[167]

text: Karachi is served by three "Signal-Free Corridors" which are designed as urban express roads to permit traffic to transverse large distances without the need to stop at intersections and stop lights.[167] The first opened in 2007 and connects Shah Faisal Town in eastern Karachi to the industrial-estates in SITE Town 10.5 kilometres (6.5 miles) away. The second corridor connects Surjani Town with Shahrah-e-Faisal over a 19 kilometre span, while the third stretch 28 kilometres (17 miles) and connects Karachi's urban centre to the Gulistan-e-Johar suburb. A fourth corridor is currently under construction that will link Karachi's centre to Karachi's Malir Town.

text: Karachi will be the terminus of the under construction M-9 motorway, which will connect Karachi to Hyderabad. The road is being constructed as part of a much larger motorway network under construction as part of the expansive China Pakistan Economic Corridor. From Hyderabad, motorways have been built, or are being constructed, to provide high-speed road access to the northern Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Mansehra 1,100 kilometres (680 miles) to the north of Karachi.

text: Karachi is also the terminus of the N-5 National Highway which connects the city to the historic medieval capital of Sindh, Thatta. It offers further connections to northern Pakistan and the Afghan border near Torkham, as well as the N-25 National Highway which connects the port city to the Afghan border near Quetta.

text: Within the city of Karachi, the Lyari Expressway is a controlled-access highway along the Lyari River in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. As of 8 February 2018 Lyari Expressway's north-bound and south-bound sections are both complete and open for traffic.[168] This toll highway is designed to relieve congestion in the city of Karachi. To the north of Karachi lies the Karachi Northern Bypass (M10), which starts near the junction of the M9. It then continues north for a few kilometres before turning west, where it intersects the N25.

text: Rail

text: Karachi is linked by rail to the rest of the country by Pakistan Railways. The Karachi City Station and Karachi Cantonment Railway Station are the city's two major railway stations.[2] The city has an international rail link, the Thar Express which links Karachi Cantonment Station with Bhagat Ki Kothi station in Jodhpur, India.[169]

text: The railway system also handles freight linking Karachi port to destinations up-country in northern Pakistan.[170] The city is the terminus for the Main Line-1 Railway which connects Karachi to Peshawar. Pakistan's rail network, including the Main Line-1 Railway is being upgraded as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, allowing trains to depart Karachi and travel on Pakistani railways at an average speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99 miles per hour) versus the average 60 to 105 kilometres per hour (37 to 65 miles per hour) speed currently possible on existing track.[171]

text: Public transport

text: Karachi's public transport infrastructure is inadequate and constrained by low levels of investment.[172] Karachi is not currently served by any municipal public transit, and is instead serviced primarily by the private and informal sector.[173]

text: Metrobus

text: The Pakistani Government is developing the Karachi Metrobus project, which is a multi-line 112.9 kilometres (70.2 miles) bus rapid transit system currently under-construction that is expected to be partially operational in 2017.[174]The Metrobus project was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Nawaz Sharif on 25 February 2016. The Prime Minister stated that the "project will be more beautiful than Lahore Metro Bus."[175] The projects initial launch date was Feb 2017, but due to the slow pace of work, it is not yet operational.

text: Karachi Circular Railway

text: Karachi was once served by numerous trams and the Karachi Circular Railway, although both systems are no longer in operation. While the Japanese Government has expressed willingness to help fund the refurbishment of the Karachi Circular Railway,[176] the project has not been finalized.

text: Air

text: Karachi's Jinnah International Airport is the busiest airport of Pakistan with a total of 6.2 million passengers in 2015.[177] The current terminal structure was built in 1992, and is divided into international and domestic sections. Karachi's airport serves as a hub for the flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), as well as for Air Indus, Shaheen Air, and airblue. The airport offers non-stop flights to destinations throughout East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf States, Europe and North America.[178][179]

text: Sea

text: The largest shipping ports in Pakistan are the Port of Karachi and the nearby Port Qasim, the former being the oldest port of Pakistan. Port Qasim is located 35 kilometres (22 miles) east of the Port of Karachi on the Indus River estuary. These ports handle 95% of Pakistan's trade cargo to and from foreign ports. These seaports have modern facilities which include bulk handling, containers and oil terminals.[180]

text: Civic administration

text: Historical background

text: In response to a cholera epidemic in 1846, the Karachi Conservancy Board was organized by British administrators.[181][182] The board became the Karachi Municipal Commission in 1852, and the Karachi Municipal Committee the following year.[181] The City of Karachi Municipal Act of 1933 transformed the city administration into the Karachi Municipal Corporation with a mayor, a deputy mayor and 57 councillors.[181] In 1976, the body became the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.[181]

text: During the 1900s, Karachi saw its major beautification project under the mayoralty of Harchandrai Vishandas. New roads, parks, residential, and recreational areas were developed as part of this project. In 1948, the Federal Capital Territory of Pakistan was created, comprising approximately 2,103 km2 (812 sq mi) of Karachi and surrounding areas, but this was merged into the province of West Pakistan in 1961.[183] In 1996, the metropolitan area was divided into five districts, each with its own municipal corporation.[181]

text: Union Councils (2001–2011)

text: In 2001, five districts of Karachi were merged to form the city district of Karachi, with a three-tier structure. The two most local tiers are composed of 18 towns, and 178 union councils.[184] Each tier focused on elected councils with some common members to provide "vertical linkage" within the federation.[185]

text: Naimatullah Khan was the first Nazim of Karachi during the Union Council period, while Shafiq-Ur-Rehman Paracha was the first district co-ordination officer of Karachi. Syed Mustafa Kamal was elected City Nazim of Karachi to succeed Naimatullah Khan in 2005 elections, and Nasreen Jalil was elected as the City Naib Nazim.

text: Each Union Council had thirteen members elected from specified electorates: four men and two women elected directly by the general population; two men and two women elected by peasants and workers; one member for minority communities; two members are elected jointly as the Union Mayor (Nazim) and Deputy Union Mayor (Naib Nazim).[186] Each council included up to three council secretaries and a number of other civil servants. The Union Council system was dismantled in 2011.

text: District Municipal Corporations

text: In 2011, City District Government of Karachi was reverted its original constituent units known as District Municipal Corporations (DMC). The five original DMCs are: Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi Central, Karachi South and Malir. In November 2013, a sixth DMC, "Korangi" was carved out from District East.[187][188][189][190][191]

text: The current City administrator is Muhammad Hussain Syed[192] and Municipal Commissioner of Karachi is Matanat Ali Khan.[193] The position of Commissioner of Karachi was created and Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui was appointed as the Commissioner of Karachi.[194] There are six military cantonments, which are administered by the Pakistani Army, and are some of Karachi's most upscale neighbourhoods.

text:
Karachi South

Lyari Town
Saddar Town
Karachi East

Jamshed Town
Gulshan Town
Karachi Central

Liaquatabad Town
North Nazimabad Town
Gulberg Town
New Karachi Town
Karachi West

Kemari Town
SITE Town
Baldia Town
Orangi Town

Malir

Malir Town
Bin Qasim Town
Gadap Town
Korangi

Korangi Town
Landhi Town
Shah Faisal Town

Cantonments
A. Karachi Cantonment
B. Clifton Cantonment
C. Korangi Creek Cantonment
D. Faisal Cantonment
E. Malir Cantonment
F. Manora Cantonment

text: Municipal services

text: Water

text: 76% of Karachi households have access to piped water as of 2015,[195] with private water tankers supplying much of the water required in informal settlements.[78] 18% of residents in a 2015 survey rated their water supply as "bad," or "very bad," while 44% expressed concern at the stability of water supply.[195] By 2015, an estimated 30,000 people were dying due to water-borne diseases annually.[196]

text: The K-IV water project is under development at a cost of $876 million, that will provide 650 million gallons daily of potable water to the city, with the first phase expected to supply 260 million gallons by June 2018.[197][198]

text: Sanitation

text: 98% of Karachi's households are connected to the city's underground public sewerage system,[195] largely operated by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. Households in Orangi Town self-organized in order to set-up their own sewerage system under the Orangi Pilot Project,[199] a community service organization founded in 1980. 90% of Orangi streets are now connected to a sewer system built by local residents under the Orangi Pilot Project.[199] Residents of individual streets bear the cost of sewerage pipes, and provide volunteer labour to lay the pipe.[199] Residents also maintain the sewer pipes,[199] while the city municipal administration has built several primary and secondary pipes for the network.[199] As a result of OPP, 96% of Orangi residents have access to a latrine.[199]

text: 72% reported in 2015 that Karachi's drainage system overflows or backs up,[195] – the highest percentage of all major Pakistani cities.[195] Parts of the city's drainage system overflows on average 2–7 times per month, flooding some city streets.[195]

text: Karachi has the highest percentage of residents in Pakistan who report that their streets are never cleaned – 42% of residents in Karachi report their streets are never cleaned, compared to 10% of residents in Lahore.[195] Only 17% of Karachi residents reporting daily street cleaning, compared to 45% in Lahore.[195] 69% of Karachi residents rely on private garbage collection services,[195] with only 15% relying on municipal garbage collection services.[195] 57% of Karachi residents in a 2015 survey reported that the state of their neighbourhood's cleanliness was either "bad" or "very bad".[195] compared to 35% in Lahore,[195] and 16% in Multan.[195]

text: Education

text: Primary and secondary

text: Karachi's primary education system is divided into five levels: primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate); and university programs leading to graduate and advanced degrees. Karachi has both public and private educational institutions. Most educational institutions are gender-based, from primary to university level.

text: Several of Karachi's schools, such as St Patrick's High School, and St Paul's English High School, are operated by Christian churches, and among Pakistan's most prestigious schools.

text: Higher

text: Karachi is home to several major public universities. Karachi's first public university's date from the British colonial era. The Sindh Madressatul Islam founded in 1885, was granted university status in 2012. Establishment of the Sindh Madressatul Islam was followed by the establishment of the D. J. Sindh Government Science College in 1887, and the institution was granted university status in 2014. The Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw University of Engineering and Technology (NED), was founded in 1921, and is Pakistan's oldest institution of higher learning. The Dow University of Health Sciences was established in 1945, and is now one of Pakistan's top medical research institutions.

text: The University of Karachi, founded in 1951, is Pakistan's largest university with a student population of 24,000. The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), founded in 1955, is the oldest business school outside of North America and Europe, and was set up with technical support from the Wharton School and the University of Southern California. The Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, which opened in 1962, offers degree programmes in petroleum, gas, chemical, and industrial engineering. The Pakistan Navy Engineering College (PNEC), operated by the Pakistan Navy, is associated with the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad.

text: Karachi is also home to numerous private universities. The Aga Khan University, founded in 1983, is Karachi's oldest private educational institution, and is one of Pakistan's most prestigious medical schools. The Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture was founded in 1989, and offers degree programmes in arts and architectural fields. Hamdard University is the largest private university in Pakistan with faculties including Eastern Medicine, Medical, Engineering, Pharmacy, and Law. The National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (NUCES-FAST), one of Pakistan's top universities in computer education, operates two campuses in Karachi. Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) offers degree programmes in biomedical, electronics, telecom and computer engineering. Karachi Institute of Economics & Technology (KIET) has two campuses in Karachi. The Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), founded in 1995 by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, operates a campus in Karachi.

text:
Iqra University
Habib University

Habib University is a liberal arts college in Karachi.

Dow University
Jinnah Medical and Dental College
Jinnah Sindh Medical University
Pakistan Air Force – Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology
United Medical and Dental College
Liaquat National Medical College
Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP)

text: Healthcare

text: Karachi is a centre of research in biomedicine with at least 30 public hospitals, 80 registered private hospitals and 12 recognized medical colleges,[200] including the Indus Hospital, Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases,[201] National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases,[202] Civil Hospital,[203] Combined Military Hospital,[204] PNS Rahat,[205] PNS Shifa,[206] Aga Khan University Hospital, Liaquat National Hospital, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre,[207] Holy Family Hospital[208] and Ziauddin Hospital. In 1995, Ziauddin Hospital was the site of Pakistan's first bone marrow transplant.[209]

text: Karachi municipal authorities in October 2017 launched a new early warning system that alerted city residents to a forecasted heatwave. Previous heatwaves had routinely claimed lives in the city, but implementation of the warning system was credited for no reported heat-related fatalities.[69]

text: Art and culture

text: Museums and galleries

text: Karachi is home to several of Pakistan's most important museums. The National Museum of Pakistan and Mohatta Palace display artwork, while the city also has several private art galleries.[210] The city is also home to the Pakistan Airforce Museum and Pakistan Maritime Museum are also located in the city. Wazir Mansion, the birthplace of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah has also been preserved as a museum open to the public.

text: Theatre and cinema

text: Karachi is home to some of Pakistan's important cultural institutions. The National Academy of Performing Arts,[211] located in the former Hindu Gymkhana, offers diploma courses in performing arts that includes classical music and contemporary theatre. Karachi is home to groups such as Thespianz Theater, a professional youth-based, non-profit performing arts group, which works on theatre and arts activities in Pakistan.[212][213]

text: Though Lahore is considered to be home of Pakistan's film industry, Karachi is home to Kara Film Festival annually showcases independent Pakistani and international films and documentaries.[214]

text: Music

text: The All Pakistan Music Conference, linked to the 45-year-old similar institution in Lahore, has been holding its annual music festival since its inception in 2004.[215] The National Arts Council (Koocha-e-Saqafat) has musical performances and mushaira.

text: Tourist attractions

text: Karachi is a tourist destination for domestic and international tourists. Tourist attractions near Karachi city include:

text: Museums: Museums located in Karachi include the National Museum of Pakistan, Pakistan Air Force Museum, and Pakistan Maritime Museum.

text: Parks: Parks located in Karachi include Bagh Ibne Qasim, Boat Basin Park, Mazar-e-Quaid, Karachi Zoo, Hill Park, Safari Park, Bagh-e-Jinnah, PAF Museum Park and Maritime Museum Park.

text: Social issues

text: Crime

text: Sometimes stated to be amongst the world's most dangerous cities,[216] the extent of violent crime in Karachi is not as significant in magnitude as compared to other cities.[217] According to the Numbeo Crime Index 2014, Karachi was the 6th most dangerous city in the world. By the middle of 2016, Karachi's rank had dropped to 31 following the launch of anti-crime operations.[218] By 2018, Karachi’s ranking has dropped to 50.[219]

text: The city's large population results in high numbers of homicides with a moderate homicide rate.[217] Karachi's homicide rates are lower than many Latin American cities,[217] and in 2015 was 12.5 per 100,000[220] – lower than the homicide rate of several American cities such as New Orleans and St. Louis.[221] The homicide rates in some Latin American cities such as Caracas, Venezuela and Acapulco, Mexico are in excess of 100 per 100,000 residents,[221] many times greater than Karachi's homicide rate. In 2016, the number of murders in Karachi had dropped to 471, which had dropped further to 381 in 2017.[222]

text: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Karachi was rocked by political conflict while crime rates drastically increased with the arrival of weaponry from the War in Afghanistan.[43] Several of Karachi's criminal mafias became powerful during a period in the 1990s described as "the rule of the mafias."[223] Major mafias active in the city included land mafia, water tanker mafia, transport mafia and a sand and gravel mafia.[224][223][225][226] Karachi's highest death rates occurred in the mid 1990s when Karachi was much smaller. In 1995, 1,742 killings were recorded,[227] when the city had over 5 million fewer residents.[228]

text: Karachi Operation

text: Karachi had become widely known for its high rates of violent crime, but rates sharply decreased following a controversial crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM party, and Islamist militants initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers.[44] In 2015, 1,040 Karachiites were killed in either acts of terror or crime – an almost 50% decrease from the 2,023 deaths in 2014,[229] and an almost 70% decrease from the 3,251 deaths recorded in 2013 – the highest ever recorded number in Karachi history.[230] Despite a sharp decrease in violent crime, street crime remains high.[231]

text: With 650 homicides in 2015, Karachi's homicide rate decreased by 75% compared to 2013.[45] In 2017, the number of homicides had dropped further to 381.[232] Extortion crimes decreased by 80% between 2013–15, while kidnappings decreased by 90% during the same period.[45] By 2016, the city registered a total of 21 cases of kidnap for ransom.[233] Terrorist incidents dropped by 98% between 2012 and 2017, according to Pakistan's Interior Ministry.[234] As a result of the Karachi's improved security environment, real-estate prices in Karachi rose sharply in 2015,[46] with a rise in business for upmarket restaurants and cafés.[235]

text: Ethnic conflict

text: Insufficient affordable housing infrastructure to absorb growth has resulted in the city's diverse migrant populations being largely confined to ethnically homogenous neighbourhoods.[78] The 1970s saw major labour struggles in Karachi's industrial estates. Violence originated in the city's university campuses, and spread into the city.[236] Conflict was especially sharp between MQM party and ethnic Sindhis, Pashtuns, and Punjabis. The party and its vast network of supporters were targeted by Pakistani security forces as part of the controversial Operation Clean-up in 1992, as part of an effort to restore peace in the city that lasted until 1994.[64]

text: Poor infrastructure

text: Urban planning and service delivery have not kept pace with Karachi's growth, resulting in the city's low ranking on livability rankings.[78] The city has no cohesive transportation policy, and no official public transit system, though up to 1,000 new cars are added daily to the city's congested streets.[78]

text: Unable to provide housing to large numbers of refugees shortly after independence, Karachi's authorities first issued "slips" to refugees beginning in 1950 – which allowed refugees to settle on any vacant land.[199] Such informal settlements are known as katchi abadis, and now approximately half the city's residents live in these unplanned communities.[78]

text: Architecture

text:
Jehangir Kothari Parade

Mazar-e-Quaid

Frere Hall

Khaliq Deena Hall

Modern high-rises in Clifton

text: Karachi has a collection of buildings and structures of varied architectural styles. The downtown districts of Saddar and Clifton contain early 20th-century architecture, ranging in style from the neo-classical KPT building to the Sindh High Court Building. Karachi acquired its first neo-Gothic or Indo-Gothic buildings when Frere Hall, Empress Market and St. Patrick's Cathedral were completed. The Mock Tudor architectural style was introduced in the Karachi Gymkhana and the Boat Club. Neo-Renaissance architecture was popular in the 19th century and was the architectural style for St. Joseph's Convent (1870) and the Sind Club (1883).[237] The classical style made a comeback in the late 19th century, as seen in Lady Dufferin Hospital (1898)[238] and the Cantt. Railway Station. While Italianate buildings remained popular, an eclectic blend termed Indo-Saracenic or Anglo-Mughal began to emerge in some locations.[239]

text: The local mercantile community began acquiring impressive structures. Zaibunnisa Street in the Saddar area (known as Elphinstone Street in British days) is an example where the mercantile groups adopted the Italianate and Indo-Saracenic style to demonstrate their familiarity with Western culture and their own. The Hindu Gymkhana (1925) and Mohatta Palace are examples of Mughal revival buildings.[240] The Sindh Wildlife Conservation Building, located in Saddar, served as a Freemasonic Lodge until it was taken over by the government. There are talks of it being taken away from this custody and being renovated and the Lodge being preserved with its original woodwork and ornate wooden staircase.[241]

text: Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture is one of the prime examples of Architectural conservation and restoration where an entire Nusserwanjee building from Kharadar area of Karachi has been relocated to Clifton for adaptive reuse in an art school. The procedure involved the careful removal of each piece of timber and stone, stacked temporarily, loaded on the trucks for transportation to the Clifton site, unloaded and re-arranged according to a given layout, stone by stone, piece by piece, and completed within three months.[242]

text: Architecturally distinctive, even eccentric, buildings have sprung up throughout Karachi. Notable example of contemporary architecture include the Pakistan State Oil Headquarters building. The city has examples of modern Islamic architecture, including the Aga Khan University hospital, Masjid e Tooba, Faran Mosque, Bait-ul Mukarram Mosque, Quaid's Mausoleum, and the Textile Institute of Pakistan. One of the unique cultural elements of Karachi is that the residences, which are two- or three-story townhouses, are built with the front yard protected by a high brick wall. I. I. Chundrigar Road features a range of extremely tall buildings. The most prominent examples include the Habib Bank Plaza, PRC Towers and the MCB Tower which is the tallest skyscraper in Pakistan.[243]

text: Sports

text: When it comes to sports Karachi has a distinction, because some sources cite that it was in 1877 at Karachi in (British) India, where the first attempt was made to form a set of rules of badminton[245] and likely place is said to Frere Hall.

text: Cricket's history in Pakistan predates the creation of the country in 1947. The first ever international cricket match in Karachi was held on 22 November 1935 between Sindh and Australian cricket teams. The match was seen by 5,000 Karachiites.[246] Karachi is also the place that innovated tape ball, a safer and more affordable alternative to cricket.[247]

text: The inaugural first-class match at the National Stadium was played between Pakistan and India on 26 February 1955 and since then Pakistani national cricket team has won 20 of the 41 Test matches played at the National Stadium.[248] The first One Day International at the National Stadium was against the West Indies on 21 November 1980, with the match going to the last ball.

text: The national team has been less successful in such limited-overs matches at the ground, including a five-year stint between 1996 and 2001, when they failed to win any matches. The city has been host to a number of domestic cricket teams including Karachi,[249] Karachi Blues,[250] Karachi Greens,[251] and Karachi Whites.[252] The National Stadium hosted two group matches (Pakistan v. South Africa on 29 February and Pakistan v. England on 3 March), and a quarter-final match (South Africa v. West Indies on 11 March) during the 1996 Cricket World Cup.[253]

text: The city has hosted seven editions of the National Games of Pakistan, most recently in 2007.[254]

text: In 2005, the city hosted the SAFF Championship at this ground, as well as the Geo Super Football League 2007, which attracted capacity crowds during the games. The popularity of golf is increasing, with clubs in Karachi like Dreamworld Resort, Hotel & Golf Club, Arabian Sea Country Club, DA Country & Golf Club. The city has facilities for field hockey (the Hockey Club of Pakistan, UBL Hockey Ground), boxing (KPT Sports Complex), squash (Jahangir Khan Squash Complex), and polo. There are marinas and boating clubs. National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex is First-class cricket venue and Multi-purpose sports facility in Karachi,

text:
Club
League
Sport
Venue
Established

Karachi Kings
Pakistan Super League
Cricket
Dubai International Cricket Stadium
2015

Karachi Dolphins
National T20 League/National One-day Championship
Cricket
National Stadium
2004

Karachi Zebras
National T20 League/National One-day Championship
Cricket
National Stadium
2004

HBL FC
Pakistan Premier League
Football
Peoples Football Stadium
1975

K-Electric F.C.
Pakistan Premier League
Football
Peoples Football Stadium
1913

KPT F.C.
Pakistan Premier League
Football
KPT Football Stadium
1887

NBP F.C.
Pakistan Premier League
Football
KPT Football Stadium
N/A

PIA F.C.
Pakistan Premier League
Football
KPT Football Stadium
1958


document_title: DNA replication

question_text: where does a dna strand begin to replicate itself

root

text: DNA replication

text: DNA structures[edit]

text: DNA usually exists as a double-stranded structure, with both strands coiled together to form the characteristic double-helix. Each single strand of DNA is a chain of four types of nucleotides. Nucleotides in DNA contain a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate, and a nucleobase. The four types of nucleotide correspond to the four nucleobases adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine, commonly abbreviated as A, C, G and T. Adenine and guanine are purine bases, while cytosine and thymine are pyrimidines. These nucleotides form phosphodiester bonds, creating the phosphate-deoxyribose backbone of the DNA double helix with the nuclei bases pointing inward (i.e., toward the opposing strand). Nucleotides (bases) are matched between strands through hydrogen bonds to form base pairs. Adenine pairs with thymine (two hydrogen bonds), and guanine pairs with cytosine (stronger: three hydrogen bonds).

tag: p

text: DNA strands have a directionality, and the different ends of a single strand are called the "3' (three-prime) end" and the "5' (five-prime) end". By convention, if the base sequence of a single strand of DNA is given, the left end of the sequence is the 5' end, while the right end of the sequence is the 3' end. The strands of the double helix are anti-parallel with one being 5' to 3', and the opposite strand 3' to 5'. These terms refer to the carbon atom in deoxyribose to which the next phosphate in the chain attaches. Directionality has consequences in DNA synthesis, because DNA polymerase can synthesize DNA in only one direction by adding nucleotides to the 3' end of a DNA strand.

text: The pairing of complementary bases in DNA (through hydrogen bonding) means that the information contained within each strand is redundant. Phosphodiester (intra-strand) bonds are stronger than hydrogen (inter-strand) bonds. This allows the strands to be separated from one another. The nucleotides on a single strand can therefore be used to reconstruct nucleotides on a newly synthesized partner strand.[4]

text: DNA polymerase[edit]

text: DNA polymerases are a family of enzymes that carry out all forms of DNA replication.[6] DNA polymerases in general cannot initiate synthesis of new strands, but can only extend an existing DNA or RNA strand paired with a template strand. To begin synthesis, a short fragment of RNA, called a primer, must be created and paired with the template DNA strand.

text: DNA polymerase adds a new strand of DNA by extending the 3' end of an existing nucleotide chain, adding new nucleotides matched to the template strand one at a time via the creation of phosphodiester bonds. The energy for this process of DNA polymerization comes from hydrolysis of the high-energy phosphate (phosphoanhydride) bonds between the three phosphates attached to each unincorporated base. Free bases with their attached phosphate groups are called nucleotides; in particular, bases with three attached phosphate groups are called nucleoside triphosphates. When a nucleotide is being added to a growing DNA strand, the formation of a phosphodiester bond between the proximal phosphate of the nucleotide to the growing chain is accompanied by hydrolysis of a high-energy phosphate bond with release of the two distal phosphates as a pyrophosphate. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the resulting pyrophosphate into inorganic phosphate consumes a second high-energy phosphate bond and renders the reaction effectively irreversible.[Note 1]

text: In general, DNA polymerases are highly accurate, with an intrinsic error rate of less than one mistake for every 107 nucleotides added.[7] In addition, some DNA polymerases also have proofreading ability; they can remove nucleotides from the end of a growing strand in order to correct mismatched bases. Finally, post-replication mismatch repair mechanisms monitor the DNA for errors, being capable of distinguishing mismatches in the newly synthesized DNA strand from the original strand sequence. Together, these three discrimination steps enable replication fidelity of less than one mistake for every 109 nucleotides added.[7]

text: The rate of DNA replication in a living cell was first measured as the rate of phage T4 DNA elongation in phage-infected E. coli.[8] During the period of exponential DNA increase at 37 °C, the rate was 749 nucleotides per second. The mutation rate per base pair per replication during phage T4 DNA synthesis is 1.7 per 108.[9]

text: Replication process[edit]

text: DNA replication, like all biological polymerization processes, proceeds in three enzymatically catalyzed and coordinated steps: initiation, elongation and termination.

text: Initiation[edit]

text: For a cell to divide, it must first replicate its DNA.[10] This process is initiated at particular points in the DNA, known as "origins", which are targeted by initiator proteins.[3] In E. coli this protein is DnaA; in yeast, this is the origin recognition complex.[11] Sequences used by initiator proteins tend to be "AT-rich" (rich in adenine and thymine bases), because A-T base pairs have two hydrogen bonds (rather than the three formed in a C-G pair) and thus are easier to strand separate.[12] Once the origin has been located, these initiators recruit other proteins and form the pre-replication complex, which unzips the double-stranded DNA.

text: Elongation[edit]

text: DNA polymerase has 5'-3' activity. All known DNA replication systems require a free 3' hydroxyl group before synthesis can be initiated (note: the DNA template is read in 3' to 5' direction whereas a new strand is synthesized in the 5' to 3' direction—this is often confused). Four distinct mechanisms for DNA synthesis are recognized:

text:
All cellular life forms and many DNA viruses, phages and plasmids use a primase to synthesize a short RNA primer with a free 3' OH group which is subsequently elongated by a DNA polymerase.
The retroelements (including retroviruses) employ a transfer RNA that primes DNA replication by providing a free 3′ OH that is used for elongation by the reverse transcriptase.
In the adenoviruses and the φ29 family of bacteriophages, the 3' OH group is provided by the side chain of an amino acid of the genome attached protein (the terminal protein) to which nucleotides are added by the DNA polymerase to form a new strand.
In the single stranded DNA viruses — a group that includes the circoviruses, the geminiviruses, the parvoviruses and others — and also the many phages and plasmids that use the rolling circle replication (RCR) mechanism, the RCR endonuclease creates a nick in the genome strand (single stranded viruses) or one of the DNA strands (plasmids). The 5′ end of the nicked strand is transferred to a tyrosine residue on the nuclease and the free 3′ OH group is then used by the DNA polymerase to synthesize the new strand.

tag: ol

text: The first is the best known of these mechanisms and is used by the cellular organisms. In this mechanism, once the two strands are separated, primase adds RNA primers to the template strands. The leading strand receives one RNA primer while the lagging strand receives several. The leading strand is continuously extended from the primer by a DNA polymerase with high processivity, while the lagging strand is extended discontinuously from each primer forming Okazaki fragments. RNase removes the primer RNA fragments, and a low processivity DNA polymerase distinct from the replicative polymerase enters to fill the gaps. When this is complete, a single nick on the leading strand and several nicks on the lagging strand can be found. Ligase works to fill these nicks in, thus completing the newly replicated DNA molecule.

text: The primase used in this process differs significantly between bacteria and archaea/eukaryotes. Bacteria use a primase belonging to the DnaG protein superfamily which contains a catalytic domain of the TOPRIM fold type.[13] The TOPRIM fold contains an α/β core with four conserved strands in a Rossmann-like topology. This structure is also found in the catalytic domains of topoisomerase Ia, topoisomerase II, the OLD-family nucleases and DNA repair proteins related to the RecR protein.

text: The primase used by archaea and eukaryotes, in contrast, contains a highly derived version of the RNA recognition motif (RRM). This primase is structurally similar to many viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases, reverse transcriptases, cyclic nucleotide generating cyclases and DNA polymerases of the A/B/Y families that are involved in DNA replication and repair. In eukaryotic replication, the primase forms a complex with Pol α.[14]

text: Multiple DNA polymerases take on different roles in the DNA replication process. In E. coli, DNA Pol III is the polymerase enzyme primarily responsible for DNA replication. It assembles into a replication complex at the replication fork that exhibits extremely high processivity, remaining intact for the entire replication cycle. In contrast, DNA Pol I is the enzyme responsible for replacing RNA primers with DNA. DNA Pol I has a 5' to 3' exonuclease activity in addition to its polymerase activity, and uses its exonuclease activity to degrade the RNA primers ahead of it as it extends the DNA strand behind it, in a process called nick translation. Pol I is much less processive than Pol III because its primary function in DNA replication is to create many short DNA regions rather than a few very long regions.

text: In eukaryotes, the low-processivity enzyme, Pol α, helps to initiate replication because it forms a complex with primase.[15] In eukaryotes, leading strand synthesis is thought to be conducted by Pol ε; however, this view has recently been challenged, suggesting a role for Pol δ.[16] Primer removal is completed Pol δ[17] while repair of DNA during replication is completed by Pol ε.

text: As DNA synthesis continues, the original DNA strands continue to unwind on each side of the bubble, forming a replication fork with two prongs. In bacteria, which have a single origin of replication on their circular chromosome, this process creates a "theta structure" (resembling the Greek letter theta: θ). In contrast, eukaryotes have longer linear chromosomes and initiate replication at multiple origins within these.[18]

text: Replication fork[edit]

text: The replication fork is a structure that forms within the nucleus during DNA replication. It is created by helicases, which break the hydrogen bonds holding the two DNA strands together. The resulting structure has two branching "prongs", each one made up of a single strand of DNA. These two strands serve as the template for the leading and lagging strands, which will be created as DNA polymerase matches complementary nucleotides to the templates; the templates may be properly referred to as the leading strand template and the lagging strand template.

text: DNA is always synthesized in the 5' to 3' direction. Since the leading and lagging strand templates are oriented in opposite directions at the replication fork, a major issue is how to achieve synthesis of nascent (new) lagging strand DNA, whose direction of synthesis is opposite to the direction of the growing replication fork.

text: Leading strand[edit]

text: The leading strand is the strand of nascent DNA which is being synthesized in the same direction as the growing replication fork. A polymerase "reads" the leading strand template and adds complementary nucleotides to the nascent leading strand on a continuous basis.

text: Lagging strand[edit]

text: The lagging strand is the strand of nascent DNA whose direction of synthesis is opposite to the direction of the growing replication fork. Because of its orientation, replication of the lagging strand is more complicated as compared to that of the leading strand. As a consequence, the DNA polymerase on this strand is seen to "lag behind" the other strand.

text: The lagging strand is synthesized in short, separated segments. On the lagging strand template, a primase "reads" the template DNA and initiates synthesis of a short complementary RNA primer. A DNA polymerase extends the primed segments, forming Okazaki fragments. The RNA primers are then removed and replaced with DNA, and the fragments of DNA are joined together by DNA ligase.

text: Dynamics at the replication fork[edit]

text: As helicase unwinds DNA at the replication fork, the DNA ahead is forced to rotate. This process results in a build-up of twists in the DNA ahead.[19] This build-up forms a torsional resistance that would eventually halt the progress of the replication fork. Topoisomerases are enzymes that temporarily break the strands of DNA, relieving the tension caused by unwinding the two strands of the DNA helix; topoisomerases (including DNA gyrase) achieve this by adding negative supercoils to the DNA helix.[20]

text: Bare single-stranded DNA tends to fold back on itself forming secondary structures; these structures can interfere with the movement of DNA polymerase. To prevent this, single-strand binding proteins bind to the DNA until a second strand is synthesized, preventing secondary structure formation.[21]

text: Clamp proteins form a sliding clamp around DNA, helping the DNA polymerase maintain contact with its template, thereby assisting with processivity. The inner face of the clamp enables DNA to be threaded through it. Once the polymerase reaches the end of the template or detects double-stranded DNA, the sliding clamp undergoes a conformational change that releases the DNA polymerase. Clamp-loading proteins are used to initially load the clamp, recognizing the junction between template and RNA primers.[2]:274-5

text: DNA replication proteins[edit]

text: At the replication fork, many replication enzymes assemble on the DNA into a complex molecular machine called the replisome. The following is a list of major DNA replication enzymes that participate in the replisome:[22]

text:
Enzyme
Function in DNA replication

DNA Helicase
Also known as helix destabilizing enzyme. Helicase separates the two strands of DNA at the Replication Fork behind the topoisomerase.

DNA Polymerase
The enzyme responsible for catalyzing the addition of nucleotide substrates to DNA in the 5' to 3' direction during DNA replication. Also performs proof-reading and error correction. There exist many different types of DNA Polymerase, each of which perform different functions in different types of cells.

DNA clamp
A protein which prevents elongating DNA polymerases from dissociating from the DNA parent strand.

Single-Strand Binding (SSB) Proteins
Bind to ssDNA and prevent the DNA double helix from re-annealing after DNA helicase unwinds it, thus maintaining the strand separation, and facilitating the synthesis of the nascent strand.

Topoisomerase
Relaxes the DNA from its super-coiled nature.

DNA Gyrase
Relieves strain of unwinding by DNA helicase; this is a specific type of topoisomerase

DNA Ligase
Re-anneals the semi-conservative strands and joins Okazaki Fragments of the lagging strand.

Primase
Provides a starting point of RNA (or DNA) for DNA polymerase to begin synthesis of the new DNA strand.

Telomerase
Lengthens telomeric DNA by adding repetitive nucleotide sequences to the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. This allows germ cells and stem cells to avoid the Hayflick limit on cell division.[23]

tag: table

text: Replication machinery[edit]

text: Replication machineries consist of factors involved in DNA replication and appearing on template ssDNAs. Replication machineries include primosotors are replication enzymes; DNA polymerase, DNA helicases, DNA clamps and DNA topoisomerases, and replication proteins; e.g. single-stranded DNA binding proteins (SSB). In the replication machineries these components coordinate. In most of the bacteria, all of the factors involved in DNA replication are located on replication forks and the complexes stay on the forks during DNA replication. These replication machineries are called replisomes or DNA replicase systems. These terms are generic terms for proteins located on replication forks. In eukaryotic and some bacterial cells the replisomes are not formed.

text: Since replication machineries do not move relatively to template DNAs such as factories, they are called a replication factory.[24] In an alternative figure, DNA factories are similar to projectors and DNAs are like as cinematic films passing constantly into the projectors. In the replication factory model, after both DNA helicases for leading strands and lagging strands are loaded on the template DNAs, the helicases run along the DNAs into each other. The helicases remain associated for the remainder of replication process. Peter Meister et al. observed directly replication sites in budding yeast by monitoring green fluorescent protein(GFP)-tagged DNA polymerases α. They detected DNA replication of pairs of the tagged loci spaced apart symmetrically from a replication origin and found that the distance between the pairs decreased markedly by time.[25] This finding suggests that the mechanism of DNA replication goes with DNA factories. That is, couples of replication factories are loaded on replication origins and the factories associated with each other. Also, template DNAs move into the factories, which bring extrusion of the template ssDNAs and nascent DNAs. Meister’s finding is the first direct evidence of replication factory model. Subsequent research has shown that DNA helicases form dimers in many eukaryotic cells and bacterial replication machineries stay in single intranuclear location during DNA synthesis.[24]

text: The replication factories perform disentanglement of sister chromatids. The disentanglement is essential for distributing the chromatids into daughter cells after DNA replication. Because sister chromatids after DNA replication hold each other by Cohesin rings, there is the only chance for the disentanglement in DNA replication. Fixing of replication machineries as replication factories can improve the success rate of DNA replication. If replication forks move freely in chromosomes, catenation of nuclei is aggravated and impedes mitotic segregation.[25]

text: Termination[edit]

text: Eukaryotes initiate DNA replication at multiple points in the chromosome, so replication forks meet and terminate at many points in the chromosome. Because eukaryotes have linear chromosomes, DNA replication is unable to reach the very end of the chromosomes. Due to this problem, DNA is lost each replication cycle from the end of the chromosome. Telomeres are regions of repetitive DNA close to the ends and help prevent loss of genes due to this shortening. Shortening of the telomeres is a normal process in somatic cells. This shortens the telomeres of the daughter DNA chromosome. As a result, cells can only divide a certain number of times before the DNA loss prevents further division. (This is known as the Hayflick limit.) Within the germ cell line, which passes DNA to the next generation, telomerase extends the repetitive sequences of the telomere region to prevent degradation. Telomerase can become mistakenly active in somatic cells, sometimes leading to cancer formation. Increased telomerase activity is one of the hallmarks of cancer.

text: Termination requires that the progress of the DNA replication fork must stop or be blocked. Termination at a specific locus, when it occurs, involves the interaction between two components: (1) a termination site sequence in the DNA, and (2) a protein which binds to this sequence to physically stop DNA replication. In various bacterial species, this is named the DNA replication terminus site-binding protein, or Ter protein.

text: Because bacteria have circular chromosomes, termination of replication occurs when the two replication forks meet each other on the opposite end of the parental chromosome. E. coli regulates this process through the use of termination sequences that, when bound by the Tus protein, enable only one direction of replication fork to pass through. As a result, the replication forks are constrained to always meet within the termination region of the chromosome.[26]

text: Regulation[edit]

text: Eukaryotes[edit]

text: Within eukaryotes, DNA replication is controlled within the context of the cell cycle. As the cell grows and divides, it progresses through stages in the cell cycle; DNA replication takes place during the S phase (synthesis phase). The progress of the eukaryotic cell through the cycle is controlled by cell cycle checkpoints. Progression through checkpoints is controlled through complex interactions between various proteins, including cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases.[27] Unlike bacteria, eukaryotic DNA replicates in the confines of the nucleus.[28]

text: The G1/S checkpoint (or restriction checkpoint) regulates whether eukaryotic cells enter the process of DNA replication and subsequent division. Cells that do not proceed through this checkpoint remain in the G0 stage and do not replicate their DNA.

text: Replication of chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes occurs independently of the cell cycle, through the process of D-loop replication.

text: Replication focus[edit]

text: In vertebrate cells, replication sites concentrate into positions called replication foci.[25] Replication sites can be detected by immunostaining daughter strands and replication enzymes and monitoring GFP-tagged replication factors. By these methods it is found that replication foci of varying size and positions appear in S phase of cell division and their number per nucleus is far smaller than the number of genomic replication forks.

text: P. Heun et al.(2001) tracked GFP-tagged replication foci in budding yeast cells and revealed that replication origins move constantly in G1 and S phase and the dynamics decreased significantly in S phase.[25] Traditionally, replication sites were fixed on spatial structure of chromosomes by nuclear matrix or lamins. The Heun’s results denied the traditional concepts, budding yeasts don't have lamins, and support that replication origins self-assemble and form replication foci.

text: By firing of replication origins, controlled spatially and temporally, the formation of replication foci is regulated. D. A. Jackson et al.(1998) revealed that neighboring origins fire simultaneously in mammalian cells.[25] Spatial juxtaposition of replication sites brings clustering of replication forks. The clustering do rescue of stalled replication forks and favors normal progress of replication forks. Progress of replication forks is inhibited by many factors; collision with proteins or with complexes binding strongly on DNA, deficiency of dNTPs, nicks on template DNAs and so on. If replication forks stall and the remaining sequences from the stalled forks are not replicated, the daughter strands have nick obtained un-replicated sites. The un-replicated sites on one parent's strand hold the other strand together but not daughter strands. Therefore, the resulting sister chromatids cannot separate from each other and cannot divide into 2 daughter cells. When neighboring origins fire and a fork from one origin is stalled, fork from other origin access on an opposite direction of the stalled fork and duplicate the un-replicated sites. As other mechanism of the rescue there is application of dormant replication origins that excess origins don't fire in normal DNA replication.

text: Bacteria[edit]

text: Most bacteria do not go through a well-defined cell cycle but instead continuously copy their DNA; during rapid growth, this can result in the concurrent occurrence of multiple rounds of replication.[29] In E. coli, the best-characterized bacteria, DNA replication is regulated through several mechanisms, including: the hemimethylation and sequestering of the origin sequence, the ratio of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and the levels of protein DnaA. All these control the binding of initiator proteins to the origin sequences.

text: Because E. coli methylates GATC DNA sequences, DNA synthesis results in hemimethylated sequences. This hemimethylated DNA is recognized by the protein SeqA, which binds and sequesters the origin sequence; in addition, DnaA (required for initiation of replication) binds less well to hemimethylated DNA. As a result, newly replicated origins are prevented from immediately initiating another round of DNA replication.[30]

text: ATP builds up when the cell is in a rich medium, triggering DNA replication once the cell has reached a specific size. ATP competes with ADP to bind to DnaA, and the DnaA-ATP complex is able to initiate replication. A certain number of DnaA proteins are also required for DNA replication — each time the origin is copied, the number of binding sites for DnaA doubles, requiring the synthesis of more DnaA to enable another initiation of replication.

text: Polymerase chain reaction[edit]

text: Researchers commonly replicate DNA in vitro using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR uses a pair of primers to span a target region in template DNA, and then polymerizes partner strands in each direction from these primers using a thermostable DNA polymerase. Repeating this process through multiple cycles amplifies the targeted DNA region. At the start of each cycle, the mixture of template and primers is heated, separating the newly synthesized molecule and template. Then, as the mixture cools, both of these become templates for annealing of new primers, and the polymerase extends from these. As a result, the number of copies of the target region doubles each round, increasing exponentially.[31]


document_title: Kraft Dinner

question_text: what kind of noodles are in kraft mac and cheese

text: Kraft Dinner

text: History[edit]

text: The prerequisite to a packaged macaroni and cheese product was the invention of "processed" cheeses, where emulsifying salts help stabilize the product, giving it a longer life. James Lewis Kraft, originally of Fort Erie, Ontario, but living in Chicago, did not invent processed cheese, but he won a patent for one processing method in 1916 and began to build his cheese business.[3]

text: During the Great Depression, a St. Louis, Missouri salesman had the idea to sell macaroni pasta and cheese together as a package, so he began attaching grated cheese to boxes of pasta with a rubber band.[3] In 1937, Kraft introduced the product in the U.S. and Canada.[2] The timing of the product's launch had much to do with its success: during World War II, rationing of milk and dairy products, an increased reliance on meatless entrees, and more women working outside the home, created a nearly captive market for the product, which was considered a hearty meal for families. Its shelf life of ten months was attractive at a time when many Canadian homes did not have refrigerators.[3] Also, consumers could receive, for one food ration stamp, two boxes. The original box was primarily yellow. They sold 50 million boxes during the war.[4]

text: The box’s primary color changed to blue in 1954. A version with spiral-shaped noodles debuted in 1975 while the Velveeta Shells & Cheese was introduced in 1984. [4]

text: In 2006, the cheddar and white cheddar versions switched to organic macaroni. While Easy Mac Cups are introduced the same year. The following year the noodles switched to 50 percent whole grain. [4]

text: Macaroni & Cheese Crackers debut also in 2007. The crackers were discontinued in 2008 as it did not meet company targets. A sub-line, Homestyle Deluxe, was added in 2010 in three flavors, cheddar, four-cheese sauce and Old World Italian.[4]

text: Variations[edit]

text: New product lines using different flavors and pasta shapes have been introduced over the decades and the shelf life has at various times been increased.[citation needed]  Kraft Dinner is seen as an inexpensive, easy-to-make comfort food, with marketing that highlights its value and convenience.[5][6]

text: The product now comes in several compositions:

text:
The Original Recipe of dry macaroni pasta and 70 ml of powdered processed cheese.
The Deluxe form, with the powdered processed cheese replaced with a prepared processed cheese sauce that comes in a foil pouch (cheese sauce formerly came in a can). This allows the cheese to be applied directly to the cooked pasta without additional preparation or ingredients. The pasta is also different; elbow macaroni replaces the thin, straight macaroni supplied as part of the "Original Recipe."
The Homestyle form, is the newest form of Kraft Mac & Cheese. It is similar to the "Deluxe" form, though it provides a large size, and includes seasoned breadcrumbs to apply to the macaroni and cheese. It comes in various flavours, such as its original three, cheddar, four-cheese sauce and Old World Italian.[4] It is marketed as being a "more premium option", for those who would not eat the "Original Recipe". This version also has the prepared process cheese sauce, that comes in a foil pouch. Due to the breadcrumbs topping, this form has more sodium than the "Deluxe", or "Original Recipe" forms. As of 2015, this variant has now been discontinued due to lack of demand.
Dinner Cups, formerly Kraft Easy Mac, which makes single serving portions. This formulation is prepared in a microwave oven and is popular among college students. [4]
A commercial version is manufactured for restaurant distribution that is a frozen, fully prepared product which is designed to be heated in a microwave. The product can be found at Burger King and Applebee's restaurants.[7]

tag: ul

text: Kraft Dinner Smart[edit]

text: Kraft Dinner Smart (also known as KD Smart) is a sub-brand of the Kraft Dinner brand. It represents a line of Kraft macaroni and cheese products that contain no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives and have added ingredients like cauliflower, oats or flax seed blended into the noodles. It comes in four varieties:[8]

text: Kraft Dinner Smart originally launched in Canada in March 2010 with two vegetable varieties. In June 2011, the line-up was re-launched with new packaging graphics and two new varieties (Flax Omega-3 and High Fibre).

text: The product is made with real Kraft cheddar and is manufactured in Mount Royal, Quebec.

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The product was originally marketed as Kraft Dinner with the slogan "a meal for four in nine minutes for an everyday price of 19 cents."[9] It was re-branded to Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in the United States and other countries, although the word "Dinner" still appears in small type on the U.S. version. In several markets it goes by different names; in the United Kingdom it is also marketed as Cheesey Pasta.

text: The product is heavily promoted toward children in the United States on television. When advertising to younger children, the television advertisement encourages the children to ask for "The Blue Box." In 2010 Kraft launched a $50 million multi-media marketing campaign with a nostalgia theme aimed at adults to promote all varieties of Kraft dinner.[10] In Canada, Kraft has advertising programs intended to make the meal appealing to newly arrived immigrant groups.[3]

text: There are regular promotional tie-in versions of the Kraft Dinner, aimed at kids. Packages have come with pasta in the shapes of various characters popular with children, such as Looney Tunes, Super Mario Bros., PB&J Otter, Pokémon, Spider-Man, Rugrats, The Fairly OddParents, The Flintstones, Peanuts, Scooby-Doo, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story, Phineas and Ferb, Cars, Monsters University, Finding Dory, SpongeBob SquarePants, Despicable Me, Trolls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Frozen, and Star Wars.[5] Kraft Foods has also released many products under the product banner. These include other versions of macaroni and cheese with different shaped pasta and different flavours, but it has also included completely different dishes, such as spaghetti in several different flavours.

text: Cheddar Explosion[edit]

text: In promotion of the introduction of its "Cheddar Explosion" variety of Kraft Dinner, Kraft sponsored the demolition of Texas Stadium April 11, 2010. In its last act of 2009 the Irving, Texas, city council made Kraft Macaroni and Cheese the official sponsor of the demolition. Kraft paid $75,000 to local charities and donated $75,000 in Kraft products. A national essay contest directed at children who "have made a difference in their community" was held with the winner allowed to push the button initiating the controlled demolition.[11] The winning essayist was 11-year-old Casey Rogers of Terrell, Texas, founder of a charity serving the homeless.[12]

text: Canadian culture[edit]

text: Kraft Dinner has been called the de facto national dish of Canada.[3] Packaged in Quebec with Canadian wheat and milk, and other ingredients from Canada and the US,[13] Canadians purchase 1.7 million of the 7 million boxes sold globally each week[14] and eat an average of 3.2 boxes of Kraft Dinner each year, 55% more than Americans. The meal is the most popular grocery item in the country,[3][15] where "Kraft Dinner" has iconic status and has become a generic trademark of sorts for macaroni and cheese.[16] It is often simply referred to by the initials K.D. As Kraft Dinner has a different name in Canada from the United States and other markets, the Canadian marketing and advertising platform is a made-in-Canada effort as US advertising cannot be easily adapted.[17]

text: Pundit Rex Murphy wrote that "Kraft Dinner revolves in that all-but-unobtainable orbit of the Tim Hortons doughnut and the A&W Teen Burger. It is one of that great trinity of quick digestibles that have been enrolled as genuine Canadian cultural icons."[18] Douglas Coupland wrote that "cheese plays a weirdly large dietary role in the lives of Canadians, who have a more intimate and intense relationship with Kraft food products than the citizens of any other country. This is not a shameless product plug -- for some reason, Canadians and Kraft products have bonded the way Australians have bonded with Marmite [sic, recte:Vegemite], or the English with Heinz baked beans. In particular, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, known simply as Kraft Dinner, is the biggie, probably because it so precisely laser-targets the favoured Canadian food groups: fat, sugar, starch and salt".[19] Immigrants often mention Kraft Dinner when surveys ask for examples of Canadian food.[3] As a measure of the product's Canadian popularity, its Facebook page, KD Battle Zone, attracted 270,000 fans, despite there being no prizes for the contest.[17]

text: Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies refer to the product in their popular song "If I Had $1000000", indicating that they would continue to eat the inexpensive foodstuff even if they were millionaires. This has often prompted fans at live concerts to throw boxes of Kraft Dinner onto the stage when the line is sung; the band has discouraged this and have urged fans to donate the boxes to their local food bank instead. [20]

text: Former Prime Minister Paul Martin regularly referred to it as his favourite food, though also confessed that he was unable to prepare it.[21] During the same election former Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated that "I'll never be able to give my kids a billion-dollar company, but Laureen and I are saving for their education. And I have actually cooked them Kraft Dinner — I like to add wieners."[22] Most of his countrymen ignore the instructions and believe that they have a unique way of preparing the food, like adding wieners or cheese.[17] Additional ingredients are not necessary; simply adjusting the cooking time and the amount of milk or butter/margarine can produce a dish ranging from soft noodles in a creamy sauce to firm noodles in a thin, milky sauce.

text: In the September 2012 issue of The Walrus magazine, the cover story "Manufacturing Taste" by Sasha Chapman details the history of the Canadian cheese industry and Kraft's impact on it. She notably draws attention to Canada being unique in favouring a manufactured food product (made by a foreign company) as its national dish at the expense of local cheeses. Chapman's article is structured around this question, from the first page:

text: But what does it mean if a national dish is manufactured, formulated by scientists in a laboratory in Glenview, Illinois, and sold back to us by the second-largest food company in the world?[3]

text: Ingredients[edit]

text: Enriched Macaroni product (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate [iron], thiamin mononitrate [vitamin B1], riboflavin [vitamin B2], folic acid) (In Canada: Pasta (from wheat). No longer 'enriched' by 2017; cheese sauce mix (whey, milkfat, milk protein concentrate, salt, sodium tripolyphosphate, contains less than 2% of citric acid, lactic acid, sodium phosphate, calcium phosphate, yellow 5, yellow 6, enzymes, cheese culture)[23][24]

text: Artificial colour phaseout[edit]

text: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese sold in the United States used to include Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 to make the food a brighter colour.[25][26][27] In Europe, food that contains Yellow 5 requires a warning label saying, "This product may have adverse effect on activity and attention in children."[28][29][30] In 2014, none of the European varieties were made with artificial dyes.

text: On November 1, 2013,  Kraft announced that new pasta shape varieties for children in the U.S. would no longer include Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, and there would be a decrease in the sodium and saturated fat content, and six more grams of whole grains.

text: In April 2015, it was announced that those changes, including the elimination of artificial preservatives, would be extended throughout the line after January 2016. Paprika, annatto and turmeric are used for colouring.[31] According to Kraft, the changes were a response to consumer feedback.[32]

text: Gallery[edit]

text:
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, with added hot dog and fresh tomato

Regular Kraft Macaroni & Cheese preparation: boiling water with pasta inside the pot, cheese powder package and colander to the right

A Bowl of Kraft Dinner

Powdered processed cheese packet"Original Cheese Sauce Mix"

Kraft Easy Mac